Solheim, who was a key figure in Norway’s failed attempt to broker peace in the Indian Ocean island, said he tried to arrange an orderly end to the bloodshed last year but failed.
“I told them (the rebels) if they wished to surrender, they would have to raise white flags and give themselves up,” Solheim told Sri Lankan journalists visiting Oslo, the Sunday Times newspaper of Colombo reported.
“A few hours later, we heard they were dead.”
Solheim’s remarks were the first acknowledgement that Norway had a role in trying to secure surrenders by the Tamil Tigers despite claims by the then army chief Sarath Fonseka that there was no such discussion with anyone.
The head of the Tigers’ political wing, B Nadesan, and another top rebel official, S Puleedevan, were among a large group of Tiger activists shot dead in May.
The government has denied killing them, while the Tigers accuse troops of executing rebels in cold blood.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 28th, 2010.
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